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Fitness for High Performance Hockey - Original Edition

by Howie Wenger Ph.D.

74 pages; Black coil; catalogue #97-0001; ISBN 1-55212-075-9; US$13.00, C$14.95, EUR11.00, £7.50

North America's premier hockey exercise physiologist, Dr. Howie Wenger, has created a book to guide your training efforts! Dr. Howie Wenger has worked with numerous NHL teams, the Canadian Olympic team and the 1991 Canada Cup Team!

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about the book      about the author      Foreward, by Mark Messier      catalogue info

About the Book

  • the reasons why players need each type of fitness to achieve their highest levels of performance
  • the principles which guide how you should train each component, and
  • specific examples of programs to follow for achieving your goals. Howie also shows you as either a player, coach or trainer how to build training calendars during the off-season as well as during the competitive season. This book takes you from being a highly skilled player, coach or trainer into the process of understanding and being able to design and adapt your own specific programs.

    It's a must for all players, coaches and trainers who are either at the door step to or immersed in high performance hockey.

    To check Dr. Wenger's Special Edition of this book please visit Fitness for High Performance Hockey: Special Edition.

    • About the Author

    Howie received his Ph.D. in exercise physiology in 1971 and has been teaching exercise physiology at universities since then. He has received outstanding teacher awards and was honoured by the Canadian Association of Sport Sciences for his work in applied sport science. He has also been awarded the Gordon Juckes Award from the Canadian Hockey Association for contributions toward advancement of amateur hockey in Canada.

    Howie played Junior A, Senior A and university hockey and was a level 4 coach in the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association. He has been a featured speaker on fitness for hockey at numerous national and international conferences, he lectures at the National Coaching Institute in Victoria, B.C., and has written numerous monographs on fitness for hockey and one previous book--Fitness: The Key to Hockey Success. He has co-edited and written chapters in Physiological Testing of the High Performance Athlete and has been a consultant to many National and Olympic Teams. These include the Canadian National Hockey Team, National Rowing Team, National Alpine Ski Team, and many others.

    In particular, Howie has been a consultant with many National Hockey League teams including the Edmonton Oilers, the Vancouver Canucks, the Los Angeles Kings, and presently the New York Rangers. He has also worked directly with the Canadian team in the Canada Cup.

    He brings his academic background, excellent teaching skills, and his vast experience and success in the physical preparation of high performance hockey players to this book which features the why, how and what to do in preparing to play hockey at the highest level.

    Foreward by Mark Messier

    I remember starting the 1995-96 NHL season not knowing what to expect out of myself. After all, it was going to be my 18th professional season and 34 years of age is "old" by most sporting standards, certainly by NHL standards. I knew going into training camp that I had put everything I had into getting myself physically fit.

    I also knew that if I was going to compete at the elite level at 34-35 years old, my conditioning had to equal or surpass that elite standard. It was not just the effect it had on my skills but also, my fitness was a great source of confidence. It established the belief in me that every shift of every game I could use all of my mental and physical skills to play with the passion necessary to excel in the NHL.

    I look back on the Stanley Cup year, 1994, not only with great memories, but as an awakening as an athlete. It was then that Howie Wenger introduced me to the fitness program that I feel contributed greatly to our team becoming Stanley Cup Champions. Since that time, Howie's programs have given me the opportunity to be the best I can be through thorough physical preparation.

    This book provides an excellent opportunity for any player who wants to play at the elite level to learn both why and how to achieve the highest levels of fitness for hockey.

    ---- Mark Messier

    PREFACE

    This book is intended for coaches and the physically mature players who are interested in building very high levels of fitness to allow them to be elite players in junior, college, university or professional hockey. It prescribes high intensities and volumes of training to build high performance levels of aerobic, strength and power fitness. It is not intended for young players or those interested in recreational hockey or old-timers leagues.

    As with any intense exercise program, everyone should get medical clearance to insure that you have no physical infirmities that would put you at risk or an old injury that might be compromised by heavy training before it has been properly rehabilitated.

    About 25 years ago when I had just completed my Ph.D. and began working as a consultant in the NHL, the first Canada - Soviet Union challenge was just taking place. The Canadian NHL pros were considered by most North Americans to be highly favoured but the fitness level of the Soviets was a major factor in making this battle close until the very end, when a last minute goal won the series for Canada. This series sent a clear message that it is not enough to be highly skilled to succeed in elite competition; you must also possess world-class levels of fitness. During the '70s and '80s, it was a large part of my job to sell fitness to players, coaches and management alike. Facilities for conditioning were poor, equipment was archaic and often broken down and the commitment to physical preparation was erratic at best. At training camps, young players often dominated early until veterans eliminated "summer rust" and slowly developed their on-ice fitness. The sport has evolved to where NHL players are among the fittest athletes in the world and train year round. Now some of my greatest challenges are in packaging fitness programs in such a way as to keep players highly fit but rested sufficiently to perform at their best over an 82 game schedule and up to 28 playoff games.

    This book is an attempt to bring together the many things I have learned over the years about the principles and programs that help NHL players achieve world-class levels of fitness and become the best they can be.

    --- Howie Wenger

    Table of Contents

    The Fitness Challenge